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GPSA Vice President, and soon-to-be graduate, David Silva has made his mark at WSU.

Graduate student Rebecca Donaway said she and Silva entered the Ph.D. program around the same time. The two taught a class together and worked on research projects.

“He is an incredible teammate and is one of those self-taught kinds of guys,” Donaway said.

Silva said he chose to do his master’s at WSU for two main reasons: he wanted to stay in the Pacific Northwest, and the research at WSU aligned with what he wanted to do.

Silva said he researches political communication and online discussions on social media.

“I came because I knew I’d love to work with these people, and then they offered me funding for my master’s program, so that really sealed the deal,” he said.

Donaway said Silva achieved some great feats, like publishing two peer-reviewed research articles for his research.

“Not only is he contributing to knowledge and innovating our field, but he’s one of the most productive students I know,” Donaway said.

Silva said he is involved in organizations like GPSA, which have helped him with community-building and benefited him academically.

“In the first week I was here, I was trying to find my place,” he said. “I remember driving to the top of B Street and turning the corner to Idaho Street and thinking, ‘Alright, I belong.’ ”

Silva said he has been trying to work toward helping students see how they can fit in here and help them realize from the start they do belong at WSU.

Donaway said Silva makes everyone feel welcome.

“[Silva] is one of those people that you can put in a room with the most important people on campus and prospective graduate students, and he can talk to both of them and make everyone feel included,” she said.

Silva said he has accepted a faculty position at Kent State University. He will be an assistant professor and will continue his research while teaching undergraduates.

“David and I usually have a research meeting once a week,” Donaway said. “I’ll probably miss those because that was a good place to brainstorm about new projects, figure out how to solve problems or just talk about what we’re interested in research-wise.”

Silva said he is going to miss the people here and believes he is successful because of the people around him who have influenced and mentored him.